Automatic call distribution systems are known. Such systems are typically used, for example, within private branch telephone exchanges as a means of distributing telephone calls among a group of agents. While the automatic call distributor may be a separate part of a private branch telephone exchange, often the automatic call distributor is integrated into and is an indistinguishable part of the private branch telephone exchange.
Often an organization disseminates a single telephone number to its customers and to the pubic in general as a means of contacting the organization. As calls are directed to the organization from the public switch telephone network, the automatic call distribution system directs the calls to its agents based upon some type of criteria. For example, where all agents are considered equal, the automatic call distributor may distribute the calls based upon which agent has been idle the longest. The agents that are operatively connected to the automatic call distributor may be live agents, and/or virtual agents. Typically, virtual agents are software routines and algorithms that are operatively connected and/or part of the automatic call distributor.
A business desires to have a good relationship with its customers, and in the case of telemarketing, the business is interested in selling items to individuals who are called. It is appropriate and imperative that agents respond appropriately to customers. While some calls are informative and well focused, other calls are viewed as tedious and unwelcome by the person receiving the call. Often the perception of the telemarketer by the customer is based upon the skill and training of the telemarketer.
In order to maximize performance of telemarketers, telemarketing organizations usually require telemarketers to follow a predetermined format during presentations. A prepared script is usually given to each telemarketer and the telemarketer is encouraged to closely follow the script during each call.
Such scripts are usually based upon expected customer responses and typically follow a predictable story line. Usually, such scripts begin with the telemarketer identifying herself/himself and explaining the reasons for the call. The script will then continue with an explanation of a product and the reasons why consumers should purchase the product. Finally, the script may complete the presentation with an inquiry of whether the customer wants to purchase the product.
While such prepared scripts are sometimes effective, they are often ineffective when a customer asks unexpected questions or where the customer is in a hurry and wishes to complete the conversation as soon as possible. In these cases, the telemarketer will often not be able to respond appropriately when he must deviate from the script. Often a call, which could have resulted in a sale, will result in no sale, or more importantly, an irritated customer. Because of the importance of telemarketing, a need exists for a better method of preparing telemarketers for dealing with customers. In particular, there is a need for a means of preparing scripts for agents that take into account an emotional state of the customer or caller.